Natural teeth may be lost due to dental disease or trauma. Dental implants are used as replacements for missing teeth and generally comprise three primary components: Fixture, Abutment, and Crown. The fixture are implanted into the bone and is coupled to the abutment which extends outside of the gingiva. The abutment is screwed into the fixture and the crown is cemented on to the abutment, providing a chewing surface that may be analogous to a tooth.
Dental implants are a very predictable method to replace missing teeth, but they can fail. In the case of failure, they will need to be removed for a variety of reasons that may include but are not limited to, the fracture of either the screw or the abutment or bone loss caused by infection or inflammation. A primary cause of implant failure has been linked to retained cement on the base of the abutment that the dentist was unable to remove or unaware of after cementing the crown. Any cement left on the abutment after cementing the crown may cause inflammation of the periodontal tissues and ultimately lead to bone loss and loss of the implant itself. It does not matter the type of cement used, any variety can trigger this inflammatory process. Currently, the removal of the cement is left to the skill of the practitioner. Unfortunately, due to tissue morphology, sub gingival level or simply the shape of the abutment may make it impossible for even the most talented operator to completely remove all of the cement.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to introduce a dental implant abutment with a protective film, which will help prevent implant loss due to residual cement, by giving the practitioner an easy and effective means to remove cement after cementing the crown in place. The film may be used with all abutment designs used in the current market. The film itself is made of Teflon, Teflon type plastic film coating, adhesive plastic tape or similar materials that is placed on the abutment, completely covering the exposed area of the abutment between the implant itself and the margin of film, which is similar to the plastic covers on many new electrical devices may be placed on the abutment by the manufacturer prior to adjusting or prepping the abutment for the crown or by the dental lab or dentist. The film may be held in place by with an appropriate adhesive on the inside of the film or could be retained via electrostatic means. The film is easily removed leaving no residue by pulling the free end which either extends out from below the tissue or overlaps the other end with the fingers, cotton forceps, hemostat, or a similar instrument. When the film is pulled off, it takes with it any cement which may have flowed out when the crown was sealed and cemented. The film may be modified or extended outward to a variable degree for example, to a shape in which it has an annular J-type ridge or bead at the apical to catch and prevent excess cement from extending past the junction of the abutment and the implant body or at the coronal edge to prevent excess cement from extending past the junction of the crown and the abutment.
The film, which may be colored or clear, cannot break easily and is thin enough as not to displace or hurt the tissue when seating the abutment or removing the film. The free end must extend sufficiently from the soft tissue and be of adequate length to be able to be grasped for removal. It must also be of sufficient strength not to break or tear upon removal. The film may or may not be radiopaque to assure that there is not tape/film remaining on the abutment post removal. It must also be of sufficient strength and adherence that it will not come off during preparation by the lab or the dentist and that it will not shift or come off during seating of the abutment and cementation of the crown.